The Colorado BHA chapter recently appointed two new Chapter Leadership Team members: John Barkowski, serving as our Assistant Regional Director for the Southeast Colorado Group, and Michael Kozer, volunteering as our Assistant Regional Director for the Central Rockies Group.

During March, our Northeast Colorado Regional Director, Ian DuClos, informed us that he’s moving to Utah. “I have loved my time with the Colorado chapter of BHA,” he said. “I have met so many great people, and been a part of many great events. It truly has been a privilege to be included here. It has been inspiring to watch this group grow into the monstrous force for public lands that it is today.”

We currently have 28 CLT members and six Groups (i.e., sub-chapters), including: Southeast Colorado (the greater Pueblo/Colorado Springs/Peyton/Monument/Woodland Park/Divide/Florissant area), Northeast Colorado, Northern Colorado, the Denver Metro Area, the Central Rockies (Eagle/Vail/Frisco/Dillon/Steamboat area) and West Slope. Take a look at our Group Leaders webpage for additional information.

We also have a new Habitat Watch Volunteer, Peter Henderson, for the Arapahoe-Roosevelt National Forest. Our chapter currently has 35 boots-on-the-ground HWVs serving as our “eyes and ears” in all eleven Colorado national forests. During early March, CLT members met in Gunnison for the chapter’s first formal Strategic Planning Meeting.

“It’s critical that CLT members are pursuing their ‘passion projects’ that fit within our mission,” BHA Colorado & Wyoming Chapter Coordinator, Brien Webster, said. “There is no one way to host a successful event, strengthen the chapter, or advance our mission.” We also developed a SPM Purpose Statement: “Inspire, Empower and Inform (IE&I = Motivate) our members on how to more effectively help BHA protect and perpetuate our wild public lands, waters and wildlife.”

Our Northern Colorado Regional Director, Kylie Schumacher, launched a “Women in the Woods” R3 series, led by women for women interested in taking the next step to learn more about hunting, angling and conservation. There will be one session per month covering different topics, starting with hunting basics and ending with getting participants out in the field this fall. The first session (Hunting Strategies: An Introduction to Hunting) was held on March 3.

On March 30 we held our first “Kids on Ice” event, that included free ice fishing for kids 13 and under at the Dillon Reservoir. We also organized multiple Hike to Hunt & Fish ice fishing outings and held multiple pint nights and related events in locales across the state, including: Wheat Ridge, Almont, Durango, Parker, Hotchkiss, Fruita, Greeley and Colorado Springs.

Our 11th annual Colorado BHA Rendezvous is scheduled for May 31 – June 2, 2019. We’re setting up camp at the Lakeview campground in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest (about 29 miles north of Buena Vista) in the vicinity of the Twin Lakes Reservoir. Same locale as last year. We’re also supporting the Colorado Outdoor Recreation & Economy (CORE) Act, which will protect some 400,000 acres of public lands habitat across Colorado.